Norway’s Electric Car Demand

In recent years, the electric car has come to the forefront of automotive engineering. But the electric car is not necessarily a new innovation. 

In 1832 the first electric car was introduced and by 1900 they were all the rage.  In 1901, one third of the vehicles on the road were electric. They were considered less polluting and quitter in running.  

Also in 1901 the first hybrid automobile, that generates its own electricity and also uses gas, were introduced by Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the sports car by the same name. Thomas Edison seeing the popularity of alternative gas cars started out to develop a better battery.

But the popularity came to an end between 1908 and 1912 when Ford introduced the Model T.  Perfecting mass production, Ford was able to manufacture these cars at a rapid pace at an affordable price thus the gas powered car became king and contributed to the demise of the electric car.

Moving forward to more modern times the interest of electric vehicles started to grow again with various companies building prototypes from 1974 to 1990. But the lack of performance, range and places to recharge them faded their interest in them.

By 1996 new state and federal regulation came into place reviving the interest of alternative fuel vehicles prompting car manufacturers to modify some of their models to run electric. Popularity finally came into focus when in 2006 Tesla introduced a luxury electric sports car with capable performance. 

Although electric cars have gained substantial ownership in the U.S., the combustion engine is still king, But not in one country. 

It seems that Norway has really takes electric powered vehicles to heart. It is now the norm, with electric passenger car sales comprising over 58% of car sales with Tesla accounting for 30% of those sales. 

Norway is on the fast track to move away from fossil fuel vehicles. Of little more than18 thousand cars registered in Norway this past March 2019, a little over 10.5 thousand registered were rated with zero emissions, a gain of 100% from last March 2018. Even the hybrid cars that run of electric and gas have had a 10% drop in sales since last year. 

Norway’s electric car sales excided that of other nations’ causing manufacturers frantically trying to catch-up with the backlog demand for these vehicles.  Norway is heading for emission free transportation for is citizens something to emulate and admire.